I just cleared a small area to open more pasture for our dairy cow. I was thinking of hiring a forestry mulcher to come in. The more I thought about it I decided just to do it with the tools I have and save some money in the process. Some loopers, a chainsaw, weedeater with a brush blade, and fire. Me and my kids did it together, and we can look back on it, and say we did that. The older I get the more I like to make do with what God has blessed us with already.
I always appreciate your videos because I love your creativity on how to best utilize your land effectively. Obviously not all of it applies to our situation but I always come away with new ways of thinking and new idea of what to do on our land. Thanks for another great video!
And thanks for your consistent encouragement. I make videos just for the comments section!🤣 (I’m currently catching up on your new ram, Griffith…looks like you’re all ready for lambing)
@birchfieldfarming hope so! We are supposed to dip back into freezing temperatures next week again so that has me a little nervous but fingers crossed!
You’re right about so much! I wish I didn’t give a dollar to Kroger. I bought a pole chainsaw for multiflora rose and now I use it for most jobs like you’re talking. No messing with fuel and the sometimes headache starting the thing. No real maintenance either. I love the thing. Thanks for another great one.
Looking great my brother. Couldn’t agree more with the fiscal and economic summary, and why inflation has exponentially increased in the recent past. Your investments look poopy, and so do mine. Thank you for the insight on the OH, as I have been pushing the high-mag and hay but can’t seem to clean the sheep up on this emerging grass. I haven’t considered timbering here per se, but have been taking out red cedar for the last several years to stop it from destroying my apple trees and to get a good, sustainable, and rot resistant wood for projects like the sheds and the barn. So glad you guys are safe after the severe weather, God Bless.
Hi Jason, it is sad to see the small Farmers being pushed out and large Corporations coming in and buying the land. Glad you mentioned and showed your Milwaukee Battery operated Chainsaw. I have been looking to get a smaller Electric Chainsaw good for taking small trees and growth that grow under Evergreen trees as so many birds drop the seeds.
I didn’t expect it to be so useful. Like I said, I kind of got it for the kids, but it’s probably the most used tool in our ground clearing now. I think it would really shine in a tree climbing/trimming situation. The 8.0 battery gets us about a half days solid work.
I want to grow cows/steer on a rotational setup for food and possibly to defray some of the cost on about 6 acres. I have had horses on it for about 14 yrs, which I sold. Now I am looking to increase the quality of my soil and grass before I put animals back on it. Any advice ? I am currently working on border fenceing.
We noticed here in the beginning a tremendous benefit just from mowing. Rotating animals will do much improvement for you over time if done right. I know chickens can be a pain, but if you can’t run them, try to source and apply some poultry litter. If you can run them live behind your cattle, they will bust up the pats and do an amazing job improving things for you. Best of luck!🤠
any tips on beginning, i want in the future to have my own land with a few sheep purely for my own meat consumption and that of my family. How many sheep do you recommend to start with for meat consumption and how many acres of land for rotational grasing
A lot of that depends on location, farm goals, and pasture/soil quality. For my area, I’d estimate a dozen or so St Croix sheep could provide meat independence on grass for a family of 4. Rotationally grazed paddocks will do best - 5 acres in my area is MORE than enough! Hope you can find value in some of the content here. My email is always in channel description if I can further assist.
Be careful about wildcrafting herbs. Some are endangered in the wild. Consider finding reputable sources to get these plants to cultivate or even add specimens back into your woods.
@birchfieldfarming Sure. :) It means picking herbs in the wild, typically for medicinal purposes. From Wikipedia: "Wildcrafting (also known as foraging) is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or 'wild' habitat, primarily for food or medicinal purposes. It applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found, and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas. Ethical considerations are often involved, such as protecting endangered species, potential for depletion of commonly held resources, and in the context of private property, preventing theft of valuable plants" Plants endangered in the wild, such as goldenseal and ginseng, should be avoided for wildcrafting/foraging. There are some reputable plant suppliers that are trying to cultivate endangered plants so they can be planted in herb gardens or back into their natural habitat. Thank you, by the way, for the great content! I found the timber portion especially informative!